A-level Business_{DRAFT 7138}

Entrepreneurs

• reasons for setting up in business
• challenges of setting up in business
• characteristics of entrepreneurs
• change in role of entrepreneurs as business grows

Business planning

• purpose and value of a business plan
• importance of competitiveness

Business objectives

• purpose and value of setting business objectives

Different forms of business

• sole traders
• private limited companies
• public limited companies
• co-operatives
• social enterprises

• market capitalisation
• share price changes
• dividends
• dividend yield

Stakeholders

• the impact of business activity on stakeholders

Identifying/anticipating customer needs

• purpose and value of market research
• primary and secondary market research
• quantitative and qualitative research
• influences on how market research is conducted including confidence level

Markets and marketing data

• implications for marketing of different types of markets: business to business (B2B), business to consumer (B2C), consumer to consumer (C2C), goods vs services
• the implications for business of different degrees of competition in a market

Interpret, calculate and analyse:

• market size including market segment size
• market and sales growth
• market share
• price and income elasticity of demand

Interpret and analyse:

• sales volume and sales value
• sales data eg sales per region/product/store
• positive and negative, strong and weak correlation

Analysis of marketing data should include index numbers, calculating percentages and percentage changes

Target market

• market segmentation
• influences on choosing and entering a target market
• niche and mass markets
• adapting the market mix for the target market

Marketing planning

• marketing objectives
• marketing budget and return on marketing spend
• marketing and competitiveness

Marketing mix: product

• the product lifecycle model, including extension strategies
• product portfolio analysis (the Boston Matrix: dogs, cash cows, question marks and stars)

Marketing mix: price

• influences on price
• forms of pricing including penetration pricing, price skimming, competitive pricing and dynamic pricing

Marketing mix: distribution (place)

• direct distribution including e-commerce
• indirect distribution including wholesalers and retailers
• multi-channel distribution
• benefits and challenges of different distribution channels

Marketing mix: promotional mix

• advertising
• account managers and sales team
• sponsorship
• brand and brand loyalty
• social media and influencers
• influences on the promotional mix

Digital technology and marketing

• digital marketing eg search engine optimisation (SEO), pay per click (PPC), content marketing, number of users/subscribers, advertising revenue
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM), customer acquisition, customer retention, lead generation and conversion
• purpose and value of data analytics for marketing
• influence of digital technology on marketing activities

International marketing (A-level only)

• purpose and value of marketing internationally
• adapting the marketing mix for international markets

Ethical issues in marketing (A-level only)

• product, promotional and pricing decisions

Sources of finance

• retained profits
• sale of assets
• trade credit
• share capital
• bank overdraft
• loans
• business angels
• private equity
• crowd funding

Break-even

• interpret and analyse fixed costs, variable costs, revenue (sales or turnover), break-even output, margin of safety, contribution per unit and total contribution
• construct, interpret and analyse break-even charts
• calculate, illustrate on a break-even chart and analyse the effects of changes in price, output and costs
• the value of break-even analysis

Cash flow and liquidity

• importance of cash and liquidity
• payables and receivables
• purpose and value of cash flow forecasting
• construct, interpret and analyse cash flow forecasts
• methods and difficulties of improving cash flow including debt factoring.

Interpret, calculate and analyse:

• payables days and receivables days
• current ratio
• acid test ratio

Profit and profitability

• income statements (profit and loss)
• profit vs profitability
• methods and difficulties of improving profits and profitability

Interpret, calculate and analyse:

• revenue (sales, turnover)
• gross profit, profit from operations, net profit and profit for the year margins

Analysis of financial data should include index numbers, calculating percentages and percentage changes

Budgets

• purpose and value of budgeting including zero-based budgeting
• variance analysis (adverse and favourable variances)

Financial reporting

• statement of financial position (balance sheet)

Interpret, calculate and analyse:

• return on capital employed
• gearing
• limitations of financial reporting

Ethical issues in Finance (A-level only)

• tax avoidance and evasions
• payment terms for customers and suppliers